Announcing that his administration would soon set up what he called a Public Service Staff College to ensure that public servants can “read, spell and count,” President David Granger yesterday warned that they would be promoted based only on merit and not because of who they might be related to or affiliated with.
Because there is a need for public servants to have expert knowledge and a high level of intelligence, the new President said the college would undertake the training of “everyone entering the administrative branch of the Public Service… So they learn to read, and to spell properly, learn to count.” The college would be established at the present training division of the Public Service Ministry. The President also said he is concerned about graft and hopes to have an “unbribable” public service and to work towards this their pay must be improved.
Speaking to permanent secretaries
heads of all government agencies and commissions at the Guyana International Convention Centre (GICC), now the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, President Granger stressed that a properly functioning public service is vital to the smooth running of any country. He described the public service as the engine of the executive, which must be efficient if services such as housing, education, law and order and infrastructure are to be possible. This means, he said, that the services provided by this arm of the state must be accessible in all regions and their offices as well must be computerized.
“It is essential that we create the environment in which our citizens could enjoy what I call a good life…,” the President said.
As the new government ministers are about to take up their new portfolios, the President said, there must be a cadre of public servants who are capable of presenting to their ministers the product of organised thoughts and collective experience. However, they should not try to be politicians as there would then be administrative catastrophe; he stressed that they should live by different rules. The politicians must be given the best advice without fear or favour for the success of the administration. He said, too, whether or not the advice is accepted, the public servant is obliged to execute the decision made with equal enthusiasm.
While not specifically mentioning the Skeldon Sugar Factory, which is still not properly functioning after hundreds of millions were spent to build it, Granger gave the example of an expert who gave advice on the acquisition of a sugar factory and the politician refused to accept the good advice “and we end up with a white elephant or we end up with a… mechanical catastrophe; the politician would pay the price when elections come around.” But he warned that it is not the public servant’s business to be disloyal to his political superior.
“In other words, I don’t care who you voted for last week Monday. What I care about is that when the political ministers enter the ministries… the public servants they find … will [have forgotten] who they voted for and work with devotion and dedication to ensure that ministry succeeds,” President said. His statement was greeted by not-so-discreet coughs from some in the audience.
He made it clear that he has no interest in having a collision with the public service or the union and as such his administration, as a matter of principle, will respect any collective bargaining made with the Guyana Public Service Union. He pointed out that if the public servants are paid badly then good work would not be done and that since the 1999 eight-week strike there have been conflictual relations with the union and the past administration which does not help the morale of the public servants.
“I am not interested in working with a disgruntled public service, we have to solve that problem… in a consensual manner. We have to go back to the bargaining table and discuss with the public service union what needs to be done not only to pay the public servants better but to ensure a higher level of efficiency,” he said.
He also spoke about the poor accommodation offered to public servants who serve outside of the regions where their homes are, adding that this too does not enhance their morale.
Streamline
He also signalled his intention to streamline agencies or offices which were formed under the previous administration and which do not come under any ministries. This seemed to include the laying of the botched fibre-optic cable, which was headed by son of former president Donald Ramotar, Alexei Ramotar who was present at the meeting yesterday. Also present at yesterday’s meeting, during which no public servant asked a single question, was Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, who had been severely criticized by APNU and AFC when they were in opposition.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and other ministers-designate sat in at the meeting.
In what could have been be a reference to Commis-sioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur, the President addressed what he called “administrative neutrality.” He pointed out that there are always biases because “we all have sons and daughters, we all have nephews and that is the origin of the word nepotism…” Sattaur has children as well as other relatives employed at the GRA.
Taking a swipe at the junior Ramotar, he went on to say “So we must have some little fibre optic cable here or some little enterprise there you give somebody related to you…”
Ramotar, who is said to be responsible for the failure of the fibre optic cable, was glued to his cellular phone as the President spoke.
“It therefore means the public service should be established firmly on a merit system, it cannot be established on a basis of political partiality. The merit system would ensure that career officials would not be selected on the basis of non-merit principles… family relations, political affiliations or other forms of partiality,” he said.
Successive PPP/C administrations have repeatedly been accused of ‘finding jobs for the boys’ in that friends, relatives and party officials were hired and many were not qualified for the positions.
Granger said there would be established criteria so that people would know they can’t call up a political headquarters to guarantee that they would be promoted or be retained in office when it is time for them to go.
Meantime, Granger said that over the last few months he has travelled the country and saw “bits and pieces” of it which are being left behind and he does not believe Guyana is two countries “coastland and hinterland; city and bush.” He spoke of areas in the South Rupununi where for days there is no contact with the rest of the country – no newspaper, no telephones, no radios and no television – and it is like if you are living in another country. In a village in Region Two, he said, villagers have to climb up a coconut tree to make contact via cell phone.
“This is not a big country but we are starting to see division taking place… in which some people are being left behind and others are moving forward. I would like a country in which the whole people, the whole country moves forward into this new millennium,” he said.
The engine that would bring about the equality in the country is the public service and as such there is need for a service that is relevant, has roots in all regions, is accessible, resourceful and responsive to the need of the citizenry, he added.
The President also spoke of what he described as the “nightmarish” existence in some regions where retired public servants cannot get their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits and others have to pay almost half of the $13,500 old age pension in transportation to uplift same and at times are even told monies are not available and they should return. “We have to look at the way people live… throughout all the regions [and see] how can we as public servants serve the people and these people do have issues…”
Every region, he said, should have a good aerodrome, sports centre, banks – he pointed out that in the entire Region One there is no bank. The regions should be seen as centres of business where businessmen can travel into and conduct business pointing out that in many instances regions have the potential of satisfying their needs.
And speaking specifically about persons who openly campaigned during the last elections, the President made it clear that those who resigned from their positions to be on the PPP/C’s list of candidates, would remain resigned. One of those persons was Collin Croal, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government who was also present at the meeting.
“Some people have walked. I am not on a witch hunt, I want a good public service,” the President said later.
